Athagarh: Devotees thronged Dhabaleswar temple at Athagarh for a glimpse of Baba Dhabaleswar on the occasion of ‘Bada Osa’ on Wednesday.
The devotees got darshan of the Lord in ‘Badasinghara Besha’ at the Pitha early in the morning after ‘Mangala Aarati’ and ‘Mailam’.
Expecting a huge crowd at the temple, the district administration has made elaborate security arrangements. A total of 25 platoons of police force have been deployed and barricade erected on the hanging bridge and the ferry ghat to ensure hassle-free darshan.
“Today is ‘Trayadasa Tithi’ and we offer ‘Gaja bhog’ (cake made of rice powder, sugar and required spices) to the Lord. The rituals began at 3 in the morning. After ‘Jalabhisek’, ‘Rudrabhisekh’ was done with milk, honey, ghee and curd. After offering ‘Khichidi Prasad’, the Lord donned the ‘Badasinghar Besha’. After the puja, Gaja Bhog will be distributed among the devotees,” temple priest Ajay Patri said.
“Devotees have been coming to the Pitha since yesterday. For their safety, adequate police force has been deployed. Barricades have been put up on the hanging bridge to maintain discipline. Police officers too have been deployed there,” said Choudwar SDPO SN Das.
The SDPO said that life jackets has been made mandatory for those travelling by boats.
“We have instructed the devotees to use life jacket while crossing the river. Overloading is being checked,” he added.
